Tag Archives: President Trump

The SJWs are adamant that this is a way to shut down their voices. Ironic since they love to shut down any conservative/opposing voices. Hypocrites.

From The Guardian: Republican lawmakers in Arizona are pushing to prohibit school courses and events that promote ethnic studies and social justice, with legislation that critics say broadly targets academic freedom and students of color.

The newly introduced bill – which seeks to build on an existing GOP-backed law that banned a Mexican American studies class – marks the latest attack in academia on activism and research centered on marginalized groups. Some opponents said the proposal is part of a national trend, tied to the election of Donald Trump, of lawmakers working to suppress progressive organizations and protests.

The bill, from state representative Bob Thorpe, would prohibit “courses, classes, events and activities” in public schools that promote “social justice toward a race, gender, religion, political affiliation, social class or other class of people”.Courses and events that are “designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group” or advocate “solidarity” based on ethnicity, race, religion or gender would also be banned.

“This really challenges a bedrock foundation of what it means to be involved in the academy,” said Rashad Shabazz, head faculty in the program of justice and social inquiry at Arizona State University. “It really puts a target on people of color and various academic fields that have emerged out of struggle.”

The proposal comes at a time in which the polarizing presidential election has fueled intense debates surrounding first amendment rights and academic freedom in American universities. In recent months, conservative groups on campuses across the US have launched coordinated attacks against professors and courses that promote liberal ideologies or challenge traditional views on race and gender.

The University of California, Berkeley, last year cancelled a course examining Palestine “through the lens of settler colonialism” following an outcry from pro-Israel groups, but later reinstated the class.

Meanwhile, some universities have faced scrutiny from progressive activists for allowing white nationalists and leaders of the “alt-right” – a far-right movement in the US – who promote hate speech to speak on campus.

Thorpe’s bill is particularly far-reaching in its targeting of social justice organizing and ethnic studies, said Martín Quezada, a Democratic state senator, and has prompted an outcry on Arizona campuses. “Our students are terrified that their freedom of speech, their freedom of thought and their ability to learn about issues and think at a higher level is in jeopardy now,” he said. “The scariest part of this bill is that the impacts are so broad.”

Thorpe declined the Guardian’s interview request, but told Tucson.comhe wanted to target an ASU course called Whiteness and Race Theory, as well as a university event called a “privilege walk”, where students are supposed to reflect on their race and privilege.

The legislation, which says a violation would allow the state to cut 10% of a district’s funding, would not prohibit courses that cover the “accurate history of any ethnic group” and allows for teachings on the holocaust or “any other instance of genocide”.

But Katt McKinney, organizer with Black Lives Matter in Arizona, said it seemed obvious that the language of the bill was targeting groups like hers that fight for racial justice. “They want to shut it down,” she said. “This is a direct attack on the constitutional rights of citizens.”

The state’s 2010 law banning a specific Mexican American studies program in Tucson has been the subject of lengthy litigation and targeted a course that was proven to be effective for students, according to Quezada.

The Arizona school boards association said it opposes Thorpe’s bill because the state should not have control over school content. “It should be up to each district what kind of curriculum should be approved,” said spokeswoman Heidi Vega.

Though Arizona has a history of these kinds of proposals, Shabazz said he felt that Trump’s victory and the GOP wins in November have emboldened Republican lawmakers to aggressively target the work of minorities. “By attempting to legislate against certain types of activities that focus on people of color, women or social justice issues,” he added, “it really undermines the ability of the university to function as a space of intellectual engagement and debate.”

By Saturday afternoon, 16 House Democrats had announced they would not attend Trump’s inauguration.

The number grew after Lewis said he doesn’t see Trump as a “legitimate president” and announced that he would not attend his inauguration—the first one he will miss since being elected to Congress. Trump fired back on Twitter, inspiring a backlash from Democratic leaders.

Rep. Ted Lieu, of California, said in a statement on Saturday that he would stand with Lewis. “While I do not dispute that Trump won the Electoral College, I cannot normalize his behavior or the disparaging and un-American statements he has made,” Lieu said. “I can only hope that Trump will govern differently than he has campaigned. For me, the personal decision not to attend Inauguration is quite simple: Do I stand with Donald Trump, or do I stand with John Lewis? I am standing with John Lewis.”

Here are the House Democrats who have decided to boycott:

Georgia Rep. John Lewis: “I don’t see this president-elect as a legitimate president,” Lewis said in a Meet the Press interview. “I think the Russians participated in helping this man get elected, and they helped destroy the candidacy of Hillary Clinton. I don’t plan to attend the inauguration. It will be the first one that I miss since I’ve been in Congress.

California Rep. Barbara Lee: “On January 20th, I will not be celebrating or honoring an incoming president who rode racism, sexism, xenophobia and bigotry to the White House,” Lee said in a statement. “Donald Trump has proven that his administration will normalize the most extreme fringes of the Republican Party. On Inauguration Day, I will not be celebrating. I will be organizing and preparing for resistance.”

California Rep. Jared Huffman: “I have decided that instead of attending the inaugural ceremonies in Washington this month, I’ll spend time in California with my constituents making a positive difference in our community,” he said in a Facebook post.

Illinois Rep. Luis Gutiérrez: “The reason I am not going is that I cannot bring myself to justify morally or intellectually the immense power we are placing in that man’s hands,” Gutiérrez said on the House floor on Tuesday.

Missouri Rep. William Lacy Clay: Clay plans to be “back home in St. Louis speaking to school kids” instead of attending the inauguration, his spokesman told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Friday.

Michigan Rep. John Conyers: A spokesperson for Conyers confirmed to CNN and Politico that he would not be attending the inauguration.

Arizona Rep. Raúl Grijalva: “I will not be attending the inauguration of Donald Trump as our next president,” he said Friday on the House floor, CNN reported. “My absence is not motivated by disrespect for the office or motivated by disrespect for the government that we have in this great democracy, but as an individual act, yes, of defiance at the disrespect shown to millions and millions of Americans by this incoming administration, and the actions we are taking in this Congress.”

Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer: “There is unprecedented concern by my constituents about the many threats posed by a Trump administration seeking to implement the President-elect’s policies on health, environment, nuclear weapons, and immigration, to name but a few. I will forgo the inauguration, spending the day instead in my district talking with Oregonians to hear their priorities, try to answer their questions, and prepare for the coming assault on the values and programs we hold dear,” he said in a Facebook post on Jan. 7. “It is hard to think of a better use of my time on January 20th.”

Oregon Rep. Kurt Schrader: “I’m just not a big Trump fan. I’ve met the guy and never been impressed with him,” Schrader told Oregon Public Broadcasting on Friday. “I’ll do my best to work with him when I think he’s doing the right thing for the country. But he hasn’t proved himself to me at all yet, so I respectfully decline to freeze my ass out there in the cold for this particular ceremony.”

From Daily Mail: Opera star Andrea Bocelli has backed out of singing at Donald Trump’s inauguration after receiving death threats – joining the list of celebrities to decline or cancel on the president-elect.

The revelation of death threats came as another singer – Broadway legend Jennifer Holliday – pulled out of Trump’s festivities on Saturday after being threatened and branded an ‘Uncle Tom’.

When blind tenor Bocelli announced he would not sing at this Friday’s celebration, it was widely reported it was because fans had said they would boycott his concerts and records. But a source said the 58-year-old had been determined to ‘press ahead’ and sing but had pulled out on the advice of his security team after receiving threats to his life.

A source close to Bocelli, a friend of Trump’s, said: ‘Andrea is very sad to be missing the chance to sing at such a huge global event but he has been advised it is simply not worth the risk.’

The president-elect’s inaugural committee had announced Friday that Holliday – a Tony award winner who is black – would perform in a concert at the Lincoln Memorial on the eve of the tycoon’s inauguration, joining a lineup featuring country stars Toby Keith and Lee Greenwood.

She pulled out after disgruntled fans – including many from the LGBT community, where she has developed a loyal following – took to Twitter to denounce her slated participation.

Despite the latest cancellations, Trump tweeted on Saturday night that the inauguration was turning out to be ‘even bigger than expected’.

Nicole Kidman is an Australian actress who also has American citizenship. She appears to have some common sense in her as opposed to all the bitterness and hatred being spewed everyday by many Hollyweird liberals.

From Yahoo: Nicole Kidman may be a mom of four, but she says she actually always envisioned herself as the matriarch of a much larger brood.

In a new interview with BBC 2’s Victoria Derbyshire, the Lion star revealed, “I wish I’d had more children.” The actress is mom to Isabella, 24, and Connor, 21, with ex-husband Tom Cruise, and Sunday Rose, 8, and Faith Margaret, 6, with husband Keith Urban.

“I would have liked probably two or three more children,” Kidman, 49, says, adding, “I love, love children. I love raising children … they make me feel good and I love being around and I love the ups and downs, and I love watching them grow and the things they say and teach.”

And the star agrees, noting that “I hate to use the word regret because I have no regrets – in terms of I’m so blessed.”

“But would I enjoy giving to more young people? Yeah,” she says. “But there’s ways in which I do it now. I mean I have nieces and nephews. Would I consider adopting again? Yes, possibly, everything.”

Later addressing the 2016 Presidential election (Aussie Kidman has dual citizenship) the star says, “I just say, now elected, and we as a country need to support whoever’s the president because that’s what the country’s based on.”

She notes, though, “I’m always reticent to start commenting politically, I’ve never done it in terms of America or Australia. I’m issue based. I’m very, very committed to women’s issues.”

Michael Ian black is an American comedian (which I’m sure will probably enable him to use the “it was a joke” non-apology for his tweet, if his PR agent deems it necessary), actor, writer and director. Yesterday he tweeted the following:

“Not a recommendation to the Republicans trying to replace Obamacare, but aborted babies are A LOT cheaper than babies carried to term.”

All because he’s got butt hurt about the republicans trying to repeal Obamacare, which he’ll never have to purchase in his life seeing that his net worth is $1.5 million.

From Fox News: Authoritiesin Southern California were searching for an illegal immigrant from El Salvador on Wednesday who is accused of sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl.

Fullerton police said Rigoberto Arevalo Cubias, 30, is suspected of engaging in sexual intercourse of sodomy with a child under the age of 10 years old after an investigation, which started in late December. Authorities believe Cubias might have a fraudulent California driver’s license, according to CBS Los Angeles.

Cubias also has an outstanding $50,000 arrest warrant from a 2014 DUI. Police say he goes under many different aliases, including Jose Cubias, Jose Cubias Arevalo, Jose Riberto Cubias and Jose Alfonso Cubias Arevalo. Investigators Cubias may have ditched his car and cellphone in an attempt to throw off police.

“Detectives believe that Cubias now knows he is wanted by police and he is on the run from law enforcement. He has discarded his previously owned vehicle and cellular phone in what Detectives believe is an attempt to elude capture,” police said in a news release.

He’s described as a Hispanic male, about 5-feet 7-inches tall, weighing 185 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information about Cubias is asked to call Fullerton police Det. Carin Wright at 714-738-6754.